Improvement in electric fuses



PATENT OFFICE.

TALIAFERRO P. SHAFFNER, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.

IMPROVEMENT IN ELECTRIC FUSES.l

Specilication forming part of Letters Patent No. 60,669,77dated DecemberA18, 1866.

To all whom it may concern: i

Be it known that I, TALIAFERRO P. SHAFF. NER, of Louisville, in thecounty of J eli'erson,

and State of Kentucky, have made new and useful Improvements in Fuses;and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the nature, construction, and operation of the same,sutcient to enable one skilled in the art to which it appertains toconstruct and use the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, which are made part of this specification, and in which-Figure 1 is a view of one of the wires, partially insulated, and withthe ends laid bare; Fig. 2, A is a sectional View, and B an elevation ofthe head of a primer-fuse for ordnance, which is shown complete in Fig.3; Fig. 4, A is a sectional view, and B an elevation of a head of anartillery, mine, or torpedo fuse, which is'shown at Fig. 5 with thebatterywires attached, and at Fig. 6 'in situ, in the cylindrical chamber which contains the charge.

My invention consists in the method of connecting and attaching thebattery-wires to the head of the fuse, and also in the construction ofthe said head, whereby a protected recess is provided for the fusecomposition, and a recess for the non-conductin g cement, whichsurrounds the wires at their point of entrance into the head of thefuse. It also consists in the construction of the charge-chamber.'

-The form shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3 is intended for a primer-fuse, and theform shown in Figs. 4, 5, 6 for a torpedo or magazine fuse. It consistsof a perforated head of non-conducting material, through which thepositive and negative wires of the battery are passed, and through whichthey project into a compositionchamber, where the electric current,passing between the terminals of the .wir-es, through an inferiorconducting but igniting substance or composition, explodes `the same.A 4

I will first describe the primer-fuse shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3: a is ablock of wood, with a recess, b, andtwo periorations, c c, Fig. 1,through which pass the positive and negative wires PN, which are to beattached to those which proceed from the battery. These wires arewrapped for a portion of their length,

y `Fig.`1, but are naked at the portion embraced in theehead a theyproject a short distance into the chamber b, which has in it acomposition which is a comparatively poor conductor, but is readilyignited bya passing electrical current as it passes between theterminals ofthe wires. This fuse composition is'contained in the chamberb, a bladder, n, Figs. 5 and 6, being fastened over the openingtoprevent the access of moisture; or a quill, h, with a cap, l, is soinserted into the chamber 'b as to be retained therein, and con tain thefuse composition i. The wall of the chamber b is coated with blackleador varnish, to resist moisture. The chamber e, at the other end ofthe head a, contains a non-conducting cement, which serves to retain thewires in their proper position relati'vely'to each other and to the heada. As will be observed, the wires project only a short distance into thechamber b, and it is an object to maiutain their exact adjustment, whichis attained by gluing or cementing them fast in the cham ber e.

In everything but its yexterior form, the head shown detached in Fig. 4,in, its relation to the wires in Fig. 5, and in situ in Fig. 6, issimilar to that just described, in so far as its orifices c c aresimilar, and its chambers b and c',- but it has a cylindrical form, Fig.4, or, perhaps, preferably, a form composed ot' .two cylinders ofvarying sizes, Fig. 6, with a depression or waist, f, by. which it maybe tied in the neck of a bag or cartridge, or by which enlargement itmay be retained in a cylinder, j, by means ot'.a rib, j', as shown inFig. 6. The cylinder in the latter ligure has a main charge-chamber, j,and acap,k, which is blown o' by the explosion, throwing a jet of flameinto the magazine or torpedo, or whatever charge it may beV attached to.This hasa. superior effect to fuses'which scatter. tire iu differentlyTin all directions, as the ilame by direction becomes more concentrated,and

ignition is more ei'ective. The quill h in Fig.

3 acts in a similar manner, the cap l being blown off by the explosion,and the flame directed into the charge in the piece of ordnance. In theform shown in Fig. 6 the portion m of the cylinder may containthenon-conducting cement which holds the wires in their places, and thechamberc may be discontinued. The cylinder j may be taken to represent acartridge, which is choked upon the neck f of the head d by' e tie whichpasses around the cylinder j.

Having described my invention, what I claim therein as new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is.

l. The fuse-head a or d, with its chambers Z1 e, one or both, as and forthe purpose or purposes described.

2. The indented or dan ged cylinder jj', with its cap ic zmdhead d, forthe direction of the dame of the fuse, es described.

` 3. ii claim the mode oi" attaching/the wires to the fuse-head, bymeans of e non-conducting cement inserted into a. chamber in said head,or in the cylinder in immediate connection therewith, as described.

4. E claim the protecting water-proof membrane or cover n, for closingthe mouth of the composition-chamber b.'

5. I claim the water-proof lining to the composition-chamber b, toprevent access of moisture to the said composition.

TAL. P. SHAFFNER.

Witnesses:

EDWARD H. KNIGHT, ALEXB A. C. KLAUcm.

